CHAPTER 112: CHAPTER 111: SURGE FORWARD, YOUNG WAVE

Mu Qingmei looked at the ’Youth Daily’ standing beside the lecture square, smoothed out the wrinkles in her clothes, and mustered the courage to go inside.

When Yin Minghong announced the collaboration with Yin Yinyin, Xuanzhu White Night did not question his decision. The intelligence brought by Yin Yinyin was extremely important, and after discussion, they decided to accept Yin Yinyin’s help. They sent someone to join the newspaper as an editor to secretly assist in the information transmission for Xuanzhu White Night.

As for why Mu Qingmei was chosen... Besides the fact that Mu Qingmei had been close to Yin Minghong for a long time, it was also because Xuanzhu White Night didn’t have a better choice—indeed, they didn’t have that many qualified and available personnel to take on the role of editor!

Unlike the Star Engraving County, where the lower-class people were also quite poor, children also had plenty of free time to receive enlightenment at the lecture square, Xuanzhu County was different. Recruiting child labor here was considered normal, and ’canceling child labor would leave both factories and the common people starving’ was regarded as a recognized truth.

In such a situation, children naturally had little time to receive enlightenment. However, literacy and combat techniques were essential for survival in the Shining Era. Thus, most people would learn some common characters piecemeal and take time to practice combat techniques to strengthen their body. They might read novels or listen to songs without any problem, but having them perform editorial work was as unrealistic as expecting a capitalist to suddenly discover their conscience and betray their class.

Moreover, there were very few people from Xuanzhu White Night.

Unlike the bustling scene at Star Engraving White Night, where high-ranking officials interacted with scholars and military academy teachers with ease and there were no commoners among them, Xuanzhu White Night found it hard to conduct high-level and mid-level operations.

After all, no miner ever became a mine owner by excavating quickly and well. Those living well in Xuanzhu County might be diligent but definitely not virtuous—like the two guards of Leyu, Mi Die and Li Sang, who would kill without asking questions when Leyu commanded them, leaving no trace of mercy.

Anyone who held a position on the rotten yet prosperous big tree that was Xuanzhu County inevitably participated in the exploitation and oppression of the lower class. The virtuous could only live at the very bottom, being exploited, as the bad currency drove out the good was vividly demonstrated here.

Perhaps it could be argued the other way around, that the good currency drove out the bad—people like Mi Die, Bai Yulan, and Jing Zhengwei were considered ’good currency’ here. Meanwhile, those misfits like White Night were the ’bad currency.’

The vested interests at the mid and upper levels might feel some pangs of conscience, but the heavy pull of reality prevented them from daring to look up and heed the preaching of White Night.

This is why someone like Yin Yinyin, who can ’blend into’ Xuanzhu’s upper society, was valued by Xuanzhu White Night—they really didn’t have spies to gather intelligence on the Silver Blood Association’s upper echelons.

The manpower of Xuanzhu White Night was too strained, and everyone had a role to play. When Rong Yao, who could act freely, arrived, everyone practically vied for him, making him out to be the public resource for everyone.

In fact, Rong Yao had the skills to serve as an editor, but unfortunately, he was originally a runaway slave of Jing Zhengwei, and this newspaper was founded by Jing Zhengwei, so going to work at the newspaper would be like courting death.

After pondering over it, the only one with the ability and availability was indeed Mu Qingmei.

Although Xuanzhu White Night always intended to use Mu Qingmei as a trump card at a critical moment in the future, the present is what leads to the future, and the risks of being an editor were relatively small. Even if something happened, with Mu Qingmei’s personal combat skills, she could come and go almost freely in the outer city.

Even though Yin Minghong was not very agreeable to it, after comprehensive consideration, Mu Qingmei was still given this task.

The newspaper office was large and located in a prime spot. It used to be a clothing store under the Jing Family’s banner. After all, the Jing Family’s upstream industries included several plantations, so naturally, they also set up downstream industries like grain and oil stores and clothing shops, not allowing middlemen to earn the difference.

The newspaper office had three floors. The reception on the first floor was staffed by two neatly dressed and comely consultants, with two burly security guards standing next to them, highlighting a sense of wealth and power.

But in Mu Qingmei’s eyes, she had another interpretation: ’Hmph, despicable merchant’s face. They clearly anticipated someone would come to clear out this nonsense newspaper, so they prepared for combat, didn’t they?’

She had already learned from Yin Minghong that the Jing Family’s establishment of this newspaper aimed to brainwash the populace, so she naturally scrutinized everything through a skeptical lens.

"Are you here to take the editor’s examination?" the receptionist said upon seeing Mu Qingmei, "Please read this article."

The receptionist handed over a newspaper, and Mu Qingmei saw it was a political article from the ’Xuanzhu Daily’ introducing the current situation in the southern Chenfeng District. Although the vocabulary was not particularly rare, those without systematic studies would likely not be able to read it all.

Even though it was simple, it certainly could filter out ignorant and uneducated people. Mu Qingmei softly read it once, and the receptionist nodded: "Please register and apply on the second floor, then you can take the exam."

There was even an exam, pretending to be professional... Mu Qingmei snarked inwardly, but her face politely agreed.

A businessman like Jing Zhengwei, reeking of commercialism, would never run a newspaper. The so-called exam was probably just a selection of questions he gathered, aiming to sift out a batch of unscrupulous scribes to write for him, while the content would naturally be brainwashing articles like ’Poor people must accept their fate’ and ’Loyalty is priceless.’

Mu Qingmei usually read the ’Xuanzhu Daily,’ and she was already disgusted and repulsed by those ’loyal servant and benevolent lord’ tales. She figured this newspaper of Jing Zhengwei couldn’t escape this category.

Although she loathed this type of newspaper, Mu Qingmei did not detest coming to the newspaper office. She was quite interested in the compilation of newspaper articles, and observing up close how these people wrote such trashy pieces was also quite amusing to her.

Upon arriving on the second floor, Mu Qingmei saw several long tables with a dozen young literati and old scholars sitting there, some lost in thought, some writing spiritedly. However, there was no separation among them; they could easily see what others were writing by slightly turning their heads... This exam wasn’t formal at all!

As she just reached there, a staff member handed her a registration form. She signed her name and basic information, then drew a ☆ star after her name.

This was the agreed-upon signal between Yin Yinyin and White Night, ensuring that anyone whose registration form had a star after the name would be unconditionally hired. Actually, Mu Qingmei was against it, as it made her signature appear very cute, but for the sake of the organization and her mission, she had to make the star look nice.

After confirming the information was filled out correctly, the staff member turned the registration form over to the back: "Answer the questions on the back of the registration form. You can sit over there and write at your own pace, but it must be finished by 5 PM, otherwise, we go off work."

Mu Qingmei was surprised, "Where are the questions?"

"Over there." The staff member pointed to some documents placed on the long table: "Your questions are different, so just take turns reading them."

Your newspaper is too stingy!

Answer on the back of the registration form!

Even the questions have to be shared!

Bringing shame to the Jing Family!

Or is this just the Jing Family’s style? Hiring brutal security externally while being stingy towards their employees internally; no wonder Jing Zhengwei got rich, every move he makes reflects his insidious nature!

Mu Qingmei ridiculed them madly in her heart, went over to sit down, took up a test sheet, and immediately understood why this exam was so casual:

’After reading the following article, write a similar short essay based on the core idea it presents’

’"Surge Forward, Young Waves"’